IT’S the retail event that seemingly everyone is talking about – the launch of an iconic superstore, set to be by far the biggest outlet anywhere on the south coast.

In fact, IKEA’s new £75m store at West Quay, near Southampton docks, is bigger than many malls.

At four storeys tall, it’s one of the Swedish flat-pack furniture pioneer’s first high-rise buildings.

It’s also close to the city centre, unlike most of the company’s other stores, based on out-of-town trading estates.

The Daily Echo this week had a sneak preview, ahead of next month’s opening – and we can report that fans of the brand, who previously had to travel as far as Bristol or Croydon for their shopping fix, are in for a mega treat.

The distinctive blue store is vast, covering 32,000 square metres of floor space.

It will boast the biggest restaurant in Hampshire, seating up to 600 people (and selling those renowned meatballs), and car park, for around 800 vehicles.

The store, which opens its doors to the public on February 12, will create 500 jobs – and co-workers (as IKEA likes to call them) will be able to tuck into free fruit and healthy meals laid on by a company that prides itself on its family background and good employee relations.

Nearly 10,000 different items will be on sale, ranging from 25p mugs to the famous Billy bookcases and complete kitchens.

The credit crunch isn’t an issue, says Nathan James, commercial calendar and vitality specialist. “We don’t borrow from banks – we’re self-sustainable, and only build a new store when we’re able to afford it.”

He’s expecting lots of interest from shoppers, from Dorset to the Isle of Wight.

But what about the traffic jams? Well, as you’d expect from a firm famed for its Scandinavian efficiency, there is a plan in place.

Social environment specialist, Mark Sokol, explains: “Ikea’s a very green company, conscious of its carbon footprint.

“We aim to recycle 90 per cent of our waste in the UK, and are even looking to improve on that figure here.

“It’s also part of my job to have travel plans for customers as well as co-workers, so we’ll be encouraging alternative means of transport, such as car sharing, and there’ll be showers for people that want to cycle in to work, for example.

“If customers want to come in by public transport, we offer a home delivery service.”

The top floor, which is where shoppers will enter, is a display area, for kitchens, bedrooms, living areas and so on; with displays illustrating, for instance, how a student bedsit can be fitted out for just a few hundred pounds.

Down one floor is the market hall, where customers will be able to buy everything from lamps and clocks to cushions and picture frames.

And below that is the self-serve area, with rows of shelves soon to be piled high with those famous flat-packs.

Not forgetting, of course, Small Land, where parents can drop off the little ones before they embark on an orgy of consumerism.

With other companies closing stores as recession looms, IKEA is looking to expand even more in the UK. What’s the secret of its continued success?

“By appealing to all people,” says Nathan. “By producing items people like, at affordable prices and that will last for years. And we look to inspire people.”

He also predicts that IKEA in Southampton will have a positive knock-on effect for other firms in the area – and a month from now we’ll start to find out if he’s right.


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